Bangladesh Bank is set to announce its monetary policy for the first six months of the year by following the same approach as before, keeping inflation control at the centre of its strategy.
The central bank said the new monetary policy statement will be unveiled on Monday at 11am by Governor Ahsan H Mansur.
A monetary policy outlines how much money is likely to be supplied to the market during a specific period to support the government’s overall financial and economic plans.
Bangladesh Bank announces its monetary policy twice a year. The upcoming policy will cover the January–June period of the current year.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised Bangladesh not to cut the policy interest rate until inflation falls below 7 percent.
Signals suggest the central bank is preparing to continue its contractionary stance for the next six months in line with that advice.
Since late 2024, Bangladesh Bank has been pursuing a tightening monetary policy.
In its most recently announced policy, the central bank set the policy interest rate at 10 percent, raised the Standing Lending Facility (SLF) rate to 11.5 percent, and fixed the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate at 8 percent.
Inflation began accelerating sharply in September 2022 after the taka started weakening against the US dollar, jumping to 9.52 percent from 7.56 percent in August that year and entering double-digit territory soon after.
To rein in inflation, Bangladesh Bank began raising policy rates in late 2022. Despite those steps, inflation continued to rise, reaching 11.66 percent in July 2024.
Student protests that began that month escalated into a broader movement against the government the following month, culminating in the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5 following a July Uprising.
After the interim government took office, Bangladesh Bank adopted a fully contractionary monetary policy. Inflation began to ease from August 2024, gradually declining to 8.17 percent by October 2025.
However, it has risen for three consecutive months since then, reaching 8.58 percent in January.